Chinese American Mei, 13, lives in a Sierra Nevada lumber camp in 1885. Her father, Hao, is the head cook; her best friend (and unacknowledged crush), Bee, white, is the daughter of the camp manager. Mei, who dreams of going to college someday, is a popular storyteller among the younger children of camp families, both white and Black. (There are no other Chinese families.) Her tales of Auntie Po, a larger-than-life Chinese woman who leads a lumber crew with the help of her blue water buffalo, Pei Pei, are a favorite of everyone, including Mei herself, who’s begun seeing Auntie Po on treks in the woods. Her presence is a comfort, but when a tragedy strikes the camp, Mei wonders if Auntie Po was only in her imagination after all. Still, the power of stories in general, and Mei’s storytelling in particular, help the children cope, while friendship and community prove essential to healing. There’s a lively sensibility and overall optimism suited to the spirit of tall-tale telling in this graphic novel, even as it tackles serious issues and events, especially anti-Chinese racism and limited opportunities and expectations for women and girls. An informative author’s note provides more information on the context of this story, including the Indigenous peoples whose history is part of this time and place. (Ages 9-13)

A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST

Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine while she works in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in 1885.

Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman's daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan--reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch.

Anchoring herself with stories of Auntie Po, Mei navigates the difficulty and politics of lumber camp work and her growing romantic feelings for her friend Bee. The Legend of Auntie Po is about who gets to own a myth, and about immigrant families and communities holding on to rituals and traditions while staking out their own place in the United States.